The 1841 tithe map of Eglwysilan parish
shows Rhydyfelin consisting of small farms and a few cottages.
One of the farms that appear on the map is Ynis Rhydfelen
and this may provide evidence in the argument about the
derivation of the place name Rhydyfelin. The name Rhydyfelin
indicates that a mill on the ford was once there. However
others argue that the village should be named Rhydfelen, ‘the
yellow ford', probably a reference to the colour of the
clay. It was an erroneous belief by some that this was
a corruption of Rhydyfelin, which influenced the Ordnance
Survey to record it as such in 1885. It's likely that this
form arose from a misconception, since there is no record
of a mill at this place.
Rhydyfelin owes its early development to two waterways,
the Glamorganshire and Doctor's Canals. They ran roughly
parallel through the village in a south easterly direction
before coming together at Dynea. The Glamorganshire Canal
journeyed from Merthyr to Cardiff whilst the Doctor's Canal,
which was approximately a mile long, linked the
terminus of a tramroad with the main canal. As the name suggests,
a qualified doctor named Richard Griffiths opened The Doctor's
Canal in 1813. Griffiths often neglected his medical commitments
and was preoccupied with the emerging coal industry.
The tramroad and canal built by him increased the amount
of coal taken from tram to canal without hindering the
flow of boats on the Glamorganshire Canal. His canal allowed
him to transport coal from tram to canal but without disrupting
the flow of boats on the main canal.
Left: Lock Lewis
The Doctor's Canal supported at least two boat yards.
One was situated near the junction at Dynea while the other
was located at the canal bridge at Dyffryn, where the road
from the Cardiff to Merthyr turnpike to Glyn Taff crossed
the Doctor's Canal. A 55 year old boat builder, William
Thomas, is recorded at Dyffryn on the 1841 census. It also
shows that another twenty four of Rhydyfelin's inhabitants
earned their livings as boat builders, boatmen or lock
keepers and that the village's total population was around
140.
Right: Construction of the viaduct at Rhydyfelin
The Doctor's Canal and Dyffryn boat yard continued
to develop in the 1840s with the building of the river bridge
to the Treforest Tinplate Works. Finished tinplate left the
works by tramroad, crossed the Taff river and ran to the
Doctor's canal where there was a wharf with crane. The Dyffryn
boat yard was opposite the wharf, near the Francis Crawshay
Roundhouse where some of the boat builders and sawyers lived.
